16 timepieces cooler than the Apple Watch

IWC Portofino Chronograph

Apple says it has ordered 5 million units of its upcoming watch ... but without the health-tracking features it had touted several months ago.

No matter: Here are some timepieces that are worth watching in the meantime, starting with the IWC Portofino. The retro details, like the push-buttons, are inspired by the cockpits of 1960s Italian sports cars. Versions of the model sell for up to $15,600.

Credit: Thomas Niedermueller/Getty Images for IWC

Art Piece 1

From the outside, it looks like really nice Greubel Forsey watch. And it is. But within the timepiece is its real appeal: a Willard Wigan sculpture so tiny you can only see it through a microscope.

Credit: Greubel Forsey

Timewalker Urban Speed

Montblanc’s timepiece combines luxury-watch looks with smart phone functionality via an optional ‘e-Strap.’ The strap has Bluetooth connectivity that allows it to pair with a smart phone while keeping that spendy-watch look.

Credit: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images

Yohan Blake

This Richard Mille watch is so cool it has its own nickname: Mark of the Beast. It’s a reference to Olympic runner Yohan “The Beast” Blake, who inspired this watch with his habit of running with his fists open.

Credit: Richard Mille

Jazz age watch

Sometimes a watch is extraordinary just for the excitement it creates. This rare 1922 Patek Philippe timepiece was purchased in 1999 by a Middle Eastern collector for a swoon-worthy $1.9 million, making it, at the time, the most expensive wristwatch in history.

Credit: AP Photo/TRIBUNE DE GENEVE/ANTIQUORUM

Tourbillon RM 56-02 Sapphire

Richard Mille broke the $2 million barrier with this timepiece. The three-part case and several parts are made of transparent sapphire milled from solid blocks of the mineral. It’s virtually scratch-resistant to any material short of diamonds.

Credit: Richard Mille

Moon Orbiter

Romain Jerome’s space-crazy watch includes actual pieces of the Apollo 11 shuttle as well as moon dust.

Credit: ​Romain Jerome

Fit-for-a-king watch

This timepiece is a rare example of a chronometer literally made for royalty: Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia. It contains 18-carat gold, rubies and diamonds and sold for $52,000 at a 2009 auction.

Credit: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images

Fit-for-a-queen watch

This priceless, gold-and-rock-crystal timepiece, created for Marie Antoinette, was heisted from a museum 25 years ago. It has since been recovered.

Credit: David Silverman/Getty Images

Tread 1

The crystal: bulletproof class. The case: surgical-grade steel, the hardest available. Accuracy: Within one half-second per day. Maker Devon's inspiration: Modern airliner cockpits.

Credit: Devon

Hallucination

British jeweler Graff came up with this $55 million beauty, which has more than 110 carats of diamonds. Graf claims the Hallucination is the “most valuable watch ever created."

Credit: SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP/Getty Images

Excalibur Quatuor

This $1.1 million whopper requires 2,400 hours to build. Its major selling point: a set of four, super-gravity-sensitive balances that are so precise they can even account for the wearer’s movement.

Credit: Ian Gavan/Getty Images

1939 Cadenas

A century ago, it was considered gauche for a woman to look at the time in public, or even wear a watch. Watchmakers came up with this elegant solution.

Credit: AP Photo/Misha Japaridze

Grand Complication

When it went up for auction in 2004, this very rare Patek Philippe piece was said to be one of the most complex ever made.

Credit: PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images

UR-110

Besides just looking cool, this Urwerk watch comes with an oil change indicator. But back to how cool it looks: In 2011, the UR-110 took the best-design prize at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève — the Oscars of watches.

Credit: Urwerk

Haute Joaillerie "$1 Million"

Watchmaker Hublot released on eight of these, each worth – of course – $1 million. See if you can count all 1,185 of the baguette diamonds covering every surface of the timepiece. Each piece takes a 15-person team 1,800 hours of work.